The first Sanskrit animated movie Punyakoti has got delayed for a couple of months from now. Initially decided to be released around April-May this year, director Ravi Shankar informed AnimationXpress that they’re “still talking to distributors” for the same.
The makers have also validated the concept entirely through crowdsourcing, to check its feasibility and acceptability. So they went on to raise initial funding through the crowd and in 2015, Punyakoti became one of the largest funded projects of its kind with over four million in Indian currency from the crowd through a premier crowdfunding platform in India.
Based on an episode from The Mahabharata, which is also prevalent as a folk-song in South India, Punyakoti is about a truth-speaking cow. The plot is an imaginary take on the circumstances that led to the encounter between the cow and a tiger in a village that is facing an impending drought.
Punyakoti follows a five act structure and is modeled along the lines of any international quality production in terms of creative and structural finesse.
The 80 to 90 minutes film has a unique animation style that’s is inspired by Indian folk-art with a mix of traditional and digital animation techniques with more emphasis on the storytelling than on the technical prowess.
Shankar earlier revealed to AnimationXpress, “We have invested a lot of time to bring out a style that draws upon the Indian temple art and puppetry- the forms and style which follows the proportion and aesthetics of Indian folk-art/sculpture. This has been made possible because of the association of the traditional craftsmen and artists who have supported the venture.”
We hope, all this toil and an amazing story comes alive on big screens soon!
